Apple Is Building Something Bigger Than a TV

Given the beating Apple has taken lately—with many questioning its future—it’s important to understand how much television means to Apple. The company’s TV plans are much bigger than just selling iTV sets.

Apple is evolving into an ecosystem, a network that connects to and controls everything from your home to your car to your office. This has the potential to be as impactful as the iPhone and iPad. Today I use iOS apps to control my stereo system (the Sonos) and central air (the Nest). Both work beautifully, and there are more iThings on the way like this incredible door lock.

Most of all, I want my television to be part of that Apple ecosystem: a thin glass hub integrating cable series, movies, endless utility and gaming apps, YouTube videos, music, photos, e-mails, FaceTime, social media feeds, and more. I want the TV to be my alarm clock, turning from ‘Sleep’ mode to awaken me with sweet music, a weather report and news, through an app like the newly launched Winston[2] (which is already optimized for Airplay).

Apple needs a television because Apple wants to be a way of life — a management platform to improve the “user experience” of living. As Tim Cook explained last week, Apple is no longer a hardware company.